WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Coming Home 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:06.559 Hi, gain everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:08.440 the Bengals Booth Podcast. 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:12.800 The I'm Coming Home. I'm Coming Home. 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:16.320 Addition, As I catch up with this week's ruler of 0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:20.720 the Jungle, the one and only Adriel Jeremiah Green, we 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:25.239 reminisce about his remarkable decade in Cincinnati, discuss the Bengals 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:29.440 track record for drafting great wide receivers, and talk about 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:33.559 the team's current stars, Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. I 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:36.920 think you'll enjoy hearing what AJ has to say. Then 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:40.000 I'll look ahead to the Baltimore game with Logan Wilson 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:44.280 and Ravens. Broadcaster Jerry Sandusky and Dave Lapham joins me 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.400 for a closer look at why Joe Burrow struggled so 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:51.360 badly in Week one. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.360 to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:56.640 the Bengals. With more than one hundred and twenty care 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.680 facilities in fifteen hundred care providers, Kettering Health is committed 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.920 to guiding you to your best health. Visit ketteringhealth dot 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.760 org to learn more. Now here's a quick reminder that 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.680 you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.800 write to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:20.200 you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Enter 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.119 the Jungle. That's the name of a new coffee table 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.760 book about the Bengals that was written by my friend 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:30.600 James Rapine. It's a comprehensive season by season look at 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:34.640 Bengal's history with vivid color photographs and some fun stuff 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.039 like all decade teams in Bengals trivia. And I was 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:41.959 flattered when James asked me to write the foreword. If 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.000 you're interested in buying a copy, you can find Enter 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:50.480 the Jungle at Cincinnati bengalsbook dot Com. You can also 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.680 find it on Amazon and just about anywhere where books 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:58.000 are sold. Now, let's get to my first guest, who 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.480 is frequently mentioned in that book. Now, an I formation 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.680 backfield on first and ten, play action fake. 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:05.760 We're got to the right gop ball for a wide 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.400 open h Green catches it the eighteen. 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:10.720 It's a touchdown. 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:16.320 For Adriel Sharamiah Green his eighth consecutive game with a 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:21.399 touchdown catch on a beautiful fifty seven yard bomb from. 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:23.920 The red rifle to play action fake. Dalton sets up 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:24.560 to throw. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.520 He rangs it deep for a wide up at AH 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:30.880 Green catches instide lett him go hit the twenty to 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:38.639 ten the fun touchdown. Bengals eighty one yards to eighteen. 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:41.919 Adriel Jeremiah Green. 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:43.720 Boyit out to the right. Here's a pass to. 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:47.320 AJ wiggles out of an ankle tackle and runs into 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:52.640 the end zone for a Bengals touchdown. Great yak yards 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:57.480 after catch produces a touchdown for Adriel Jeremiah Green. Dalton 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.240 takes a shotgun snap against a five man rush. He's 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.480 gonna fire, teach. AJ Green is open. He bobbles it. 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.240 He's done it. That's the funny wait cut. He's still 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:14.320 running ten five touchdown Adriel Jeremiah Green seventy seven yards. 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:18.560 The former juggler as a kid made a juggling catch 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.280 and took it to the house to give the Bengals 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.000 a twenty one to sixteen lead. On first and ten, 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:27.120 Dalton fakes to mix hims a eye Indeed. BJ Green 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.560 catches at the buffalo forty spretty torment on the field 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:38.320 of the vine and five touchdown seventy seven yards. Andy 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:43.760 Dalton finding AJ Green, who roasted the rookie cornerback true 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:44.400 Davy is. 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:47.640 White boyd goes in motion. Dalton back to throw, steps up, 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.200 heaps it long. AJ Green is watahman. 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:51.440 He's donning. 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:52.400 Touchdown. 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:59.080 Bengals has Ammy. Dalton floated a high rainbow fifty four 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:02.720 yards down, a touchdown to AJ Green. 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:04.320 No revis island there. 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:07.040 It is third and seven at the Pittsburgh twenty five. 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.480 McCarn five yards behind the line, takes a shotgun snap. 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.840 It's a four man rush AJ gunfield for a J Green. 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.760 He cutches in and goes into the end zone. 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:24.560 Touchdown Bengals a twenty five yard touchdown and the Bengals 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:26.559 have a one point lead. 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:29.479 Dalton back to throw. We're down to five seconds left 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.600 in the half. He's gonna throw a high deep hail 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.360 Mary pass into the enz and it. 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:39.480 Is Baba yeah cod hey Jas takes the catch on. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:45.160 The ricochet hail Mary, a forty nine yard touchdown pass 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:49.240 as a prairie is answered in the end zone. Bye 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.679 Adriel share Amiah Green. 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.800 AJ Green announced his retirement in February and finished his 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.960 career number two in Bengals history in catches, receiving yar 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:04.479 yards and touchdown grabs behind Chad Johnson. The thirty five 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.760 year old would have almost certainly held all of those 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.640 records if not for injuries that caused him to miss 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:14.400 half of twenty eighteen and all of twenty nineteen. He'll 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.520 be back in town this weekend to serve as the 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.320 Ruler of the Jungle for the home opener, and I 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:23.800 caught up with AJ this week. This is the third 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.159 year of the Ruler of the Jungle and I have 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:30.080 never heard Bengals fans more excited about the selection than 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:32.400 they are this week for one of the greatest leaders 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:37.839 in franchise history, AJ Green. AJ, when the team reached out, 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:39.039 what was your reaction? 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:41.840 You know, I was a little surprised because it was, uh, 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:47.640 it's a little early, but I'm on it to come back. 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:50.919 Me and I it was just like honor man. I 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:52.040 loved it. I loved it. 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:55.279 Sometimes when a player leaves in free agency, there's a 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.120 little bit of bitterness on both sides for whatever reason, 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:00.000 but that certainly did not appear to be the case 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.560 with you. Why do you still have such great feelings 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:06.080 about the franchise in the city. 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:09.599 I think for me, it's just we didn't leave on 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:11.920 bad terms. It's just every good thing has to end. 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:17.720 And I understood the business side of football. Like I said, man, 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.960 it took care. Took care of me for ten years, 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:22.279 and a lot of people don't last ten years in 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:26.240 one spot. So I'm very honored the last that long 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.440 in one organization. And they were the first organization gave 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.119 me my chance. And you know, they're just great people. 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:34.880 The Brown family are great people, man. And I you know, 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.440 they hand out all my situations, even when I got hurt, 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.200 there's always out of respect and and that's the least 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:44.080 I can do, is you know, come back and uh 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.159 be a fan and and uh just I just want 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:49.320 that organization to win Bushal Mike Brown. I just want 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:50.200 Mike Brown to get one. 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.919 When you left, you didn't really get a chance to 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.960 say goodbye in person, and Bengals fans didn't get a 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.479 chance to give you the tribute that they would have 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.560 liked to have given you. Does this ceremony feel like 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:03.520 there's a little bit of that? 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.359 Yeah, of course, you know, when you leave and you 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.360 still you still want to play, it's a little bittersweet 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:15.040 because you've you envisioned yourself leaving on a higher note. 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.760 But that wasn't the case. So coming back here after 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.360 everything's done, you know what I'm done playing is sweet. 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.040 It's better than I'm being somewhere else. And then I 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.640 got to come back. But to be done with football 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:30.840 and come back to the place that I became AJ 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:32.480 Green is unbelievable. 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:36.160 Let's turn the clock back to April of twenty eleven. 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.120 The Panthers take Cam Newton with the first pick, the 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:41.920 Broncos take Von Miller with the second, the Bills take 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.520 mister big stuff Marcel Darius with a third, and now 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:48.960 the Bengals are on the clock. Did you know you 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:50.480 were going to be the pick? And what do you 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.120 remember about that night? Oh? 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:55.360 Man, the crazy thing. I didn't know I was going 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.840 to the Bengals because I had got a call from 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:01.120 Atlanta and I'm like, oh, are you going to Atlanta? 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.480 But I guess it's somebody playing tricks on me, like 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:06.440 we made the pick, Like I'm made from my phone 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:07.880 at the four or four and I'm like, what in 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:12.120 the world's going on? Like Atlanta don't have the fourth pick, 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:14.240 but like, yeah, we're taking you. We got the fourth pick, 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:16.880 and I hung up. I'm like this is weird and 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:18.960 then I got a five to one to three number 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.600 calling me in this herb and we just selected your 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:23.840 number four. So I'm like, what is going on? And 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:25.400 he was like, no, You're about to be a Bengal 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:29.520 and I'm like, oh, okay, And it's exciting, man, just 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.760 to get my name called that early. The have a 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.080 lot of emotions, all the work that you put in 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:37.480 your whole life to get to this point, man, it 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:39.440 paid off and I couldn't be much more happy. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.000 At that point, Chad Johnson was still on the Bengals roster. 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:45.199 He didn't get traded for a few months until after 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.280 the draft. Did you think about the possibility of you 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:50.520 and Chad being teammates? 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:55.240 Of course, I'm thinking about Chad. I'm thinking about t O. 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.280 I'm thinking like Carson. I'm like, oh, I'm going to 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.079 be the young book and go out there just like 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.120 true a little bit. Don't have to be you don't 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.640 have to do too much, learn from the guy, learn 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.520 from some future Hall of famers, and uh got time 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:13.120 to develop. And but that wasn't the case, No, it 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:13.480 was not. 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.880 After picking you in round one, the Bengals obviously took 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:19.600 Andy Dalton round two and for eight years. It was 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.360 the Andy and a J Show. Did the two of 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:25.080 you hit it off right away? And if so, why, Yeah? 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.480 Of course. I think for us to come in together, 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.680 you know, you when you come in with your a 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.440 guy in your class, you always create that bond. And 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.520 I think Andy and I created that bond from day one. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:43.080 You know, we both come from humble beginnings, both great families, 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.320 and we both had, you know, want to win, and 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.400 he came from a great program at TCU. He did 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:51.560 some great things, and then we grew up, we grew 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.840 together and to this day we're still like we're family. 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.000 So last week we went out to dinner and uh, 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:01.600 it was fun, but it's just that's my guy, no 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.240 matter what. Just family. 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:07.520 Now, your first seven years were basically as good as 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:11.319 any wide receiver in NFL history. Do you have a 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:15.560 favorite game, a favorite moment, a favorite catch, any sort 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.040 of favorite thing that sticks out? 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:20.760 Andy and I were just talking about that, like, well 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.160 with you know some of our favorite moments. I think 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.040 for me it was the Seattle game when Seattle was 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.760 coming off that Super Bowl in twenty fifteen, when we 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:33.079 beat him at home, when I've had some great catches 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.440 and Andy was playing at the MVP level that year 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.240 before he got hurt. And then probably one of my 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:42.400 favorite catches probably the playoff game that night game with 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:44.360 the Steelers, even though we lost. That's probably one of 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:49.320 the highlights of my career, just scoring that potential game winner. 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:52.760 It didn't happen that way, but should have happened that way. 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:58.240 But my best catches, but Seattle game was good, and 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:02.200 then Baltimore when I had like two hundred yards. That 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:02.760 was a good game. 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:07.080 We beat Baltimore there to twenty seven against the Ravens, 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.720 and it's appropriate you are the ruler of the Jungle 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:13.280 in a game against Baltimore because you tormented the Ravens 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:16.600 throughout your career. John Harbaugh famously said it would be 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:21.160 nice just once to cover aj before he retires. Those 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:26.240 were good Baltimore teams. Is there are reason why defensively 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.199 they did something that kind of played into your skill set? 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:32.400 Oh? Man. I think they just played a lot of 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:35.440 main a lot of you know, you versus him, and 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.199 I think their defense is built like that. They also 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.840 start up front great corners. I know Jimmy Smith and 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:46.360 I always had great battles together, so I got the 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.240 best of the them a couple of times. But you know, 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:51.280 we used to probably wanted the hardest game, harder hitting games. 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.960 You know, your body feel a little sore, more sore 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:58.360 than other other weeks. But we played them twice a 0:11:58.400 --> 0:11:59.960 weekend and we just figured each other out some time. 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.040 I asked your former teammate Tyler Boyd about you recently. 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.000 Here's what he said. Aj is one of the greatest 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:11.000 dudes I ever met. He does everything right. He never 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.840 gets in trouble, never does stupid stuff. He's the perfect 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:20.280 example of being a football player and a man. That's leadership. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.880 How did you try to lead for me? 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.080 As you know, Dan, I'm not really the biggest vocal 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.040 person in the room, so I lead more of my 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.080 example of what I do on and off the field. 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.640 And I think that's that's just who I am. That's 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.040 how I teach my boys to treat everybody would respect, 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:44.600 carry yourself with respect on and off, be a good, 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.040 good teammate, be a good leader. I think that's the 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.319 all aspects of it. Being a great athletist, you got 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.080 to have everything, yeah to just not on the field, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.160 off the field as well. And that's the way I 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:58.240 carried myself. I wanted to be just as great off 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:00.760 the field out that I wanted to be on the field. 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:04.560 You overlapped with Joe Burrow his rookie year. What do 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:06.120 you think of what Joe has become? 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:11.480 I had no question. I remember the first meeting. Joe 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:14.680 stood up and he told that story about when he 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.360 was in high school and one of his friends got 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:20.360 picked on uh and he cried and he was in 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.520 tears up there, and I'm looking, I'm looking over to 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.679 some of the older guys. I'm like, this guy got it. 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.280 He is a leader of men, and these guys, whoever, 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:33.120 he whoever's going to be in his room, He's going 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.559 to lead them and they're gonna follow him. And you're 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.200 see in it right now. He's a I call him 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.960 a young Tom Brady, the way he carried hiself. I've 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.240 been around Tom Brady a couple of times, and they 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:44.280 got the same demeanor. 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.920 You didn't overlap with Jamar Chase. What stands out when 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:49.720 you watch him play. 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:55.400 I remember when they drafted Jamal and I got a 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:59.199 I was talking to Troy after they drafted him, and 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.199 he's like, who is period two? I'm like, he's a 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.880 faster A J. Brown. He's big, physical, but he can 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.040 take take the top off and I and I and 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.400 you can see it. He can make all the hard 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:16.120 catches and then he can just run past you. And 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:18.840 that's one thing. But the Bengals they gonna draft great receivers. 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:22.320 That's another one. Coming Churches with two with tv T. 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:27.160 So it's the same thing Chad from Chad Uh, from 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.760 Chad to TJ to Chris Henry to me, Marv Moe 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:37.160 and now tv UH Chase and T and Uh and 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.760 T Man. It's just the Bengals got the recipe. So 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:42.480 if you want to receive you better, you better talk 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:43.200 to Duke about this. 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.720 So when the Bengals made the Super Bowl two years ago, 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:53.960 you actually reactivated your Instagram account in order to congratulate 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.080 the players in the city of Cincinnati. What were your 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.520 emotions like during that Super Bowl run? You just been 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:01.680 with the team the year before. 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:04.720 Uh, you know, I wish, I wanted, I wanted to 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.800 be a part of that, but it didn't happen that 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:09.920 where I think, But I was happy for those guys. 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:14.800 I'm happy for the city of Cincinnati because you know, 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.040 I went to Arizona and you know, I seen the 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.640 other side of it, and Cincinnati fans are unbelievable the 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:23.320 way they fight for the team. Even when we're within winning, 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.840 the stadium will still packed. I'm in Arizona and we 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.880 eight no and the stadium is still not packed. So 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.280 I'm like, yeah, this is a little different from Cincinnati, 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.560 and I was just happy for the team. I'm happy 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:36.320 for the guys because I know the work that they 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.200 put in, man, and that's a harder compliment to get to. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.840 But I was just rooting for them because I know 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:47.560 the what it took to to get where they're at. 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.160 To that level. Man, it's unbelievable. 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:52.640 So let's talk about the current team. They had a 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.040 subpar performance in Week one. Obviously, that happens from time 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.240 to time. What would be your advice to the guys 0:15:58.280 --> 0:15:59.840 if you had the opportunity to visit with them? 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.320 Sweet And I don't think there's nothing I can tell them. 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.760 I think they they already played at the highest level 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:07.760 and that's playing in the super Bowl, So I understand 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:11.040 they know, you know, I think when that that that 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.160 year they had that run, or even last year they 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:15.880 started up er and to you know, Joe missed a 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.360 lot of a training game, so he still still got 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:20.480 to get the feeldback. So it's a long season. They 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.320 canna be fine. They got a great tief defense, great offense, 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:26.800 and they lived by one of the greatest and that's 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.200 and that's in Joe, And I think they're gonna be fine. 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.400 This is the first time that you've been healthy and 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:35.600 not playing football in the fall since you were a 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.800 little kid. What do you miss and what are you 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:39.680 doing to keep busy? 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.120 You know, I think I thought I was gonna miss playing, 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:44.920 but I don't, not at all. I don't have that itch, 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.360 not yet as as now. But I just met the 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.600 biggest things being in the locker room with the guys 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:54.600 talking and you know, just talking about everything, playing the games, betting, 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:58.560 you know, just little just little guy stuff. But I 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.720 think that's the biggest thing is it's the locker room. 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:05.359 But the game, playing the game and practicing. Nah, I 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:07.440 don't miss that at all. I don't miss that out. 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.040 But right now I'm just being my boys. I coached 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:14.760 both of their teams, and I playing playing a lot 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:19.640 of golf. I just played golf yesterday. Uh so I'm 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.000 staying very active. I said, we got a dog now, 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:23.679 So I get up six o'clock in the morning, take 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:27.240 the dog out, get my coffee, give my little breakfast, 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.200 and get the boys ready for school. Take the boys 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:30.840 to school, come back, get a little tea time. 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:32.360 I love it. 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.520 I know you've been back to Cincinnati once. What are 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.640 you looking forward to on this return trip. Whether it's 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:42.359 seeing people, whether it's seeing something, what are you looking 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:42.840 forward to? 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:45.480 I think for me, it's just getting back to the city. 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.200 I know my wife and my family are very excited 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.120 to get hit the restaurants and the pre sinc and 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:52.880 and stuff like that. I'm excited to get my boys 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:56.399 around the players because it easy. Loves football, uh Jo Burrow, 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.320 Dramaal Chase TVT. He loves That's all he does. He 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.800 played with the Bengals all day in Madden, so it'd 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:04.560 be excited for him to see them on a few 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:06.880 see them in person. So I'm excited for that with 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:08.760 my wife and I we are excited to get back 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.439 to the city man and see some people that we 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:14.320 you know, grew up with and watch us grew as 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.360 we grew into a family as well. So I got 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:19.000 some friends out there that's gonna come to a game. 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.080 So Bengals fans are over the moon that you are 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:24.200 going to be the ruler of the jungle this week. 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.600 Thank you for a decade of great football in Cincinnati 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:30.320 and for all you have meant to this franchise. I 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:32.560 appreciate your time today and I look forward to seeing 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:33.240 you this weekend. 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:34.000 Thank you. 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:38.280 Dan Aj, his wife Miranda, and their two boys will 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.600 be at practice on Saturday before he fires up the 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:45.080 fans with the Who Day Chant on Sunday before kickoff. 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.160 The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by pay Corps. 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:51.800 More than twenty nine thousand customers trust Paycorps to help 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:56.720 them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees. Learn more at 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.959 paycoorp dot com. In last week's twenty four to three 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.760 lost to the Browns, the Bengals offense really struggled. Cincinnati 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.359 punted on more than half of its drives, and the 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.160 Bengals were the only team in the NFL that did 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.199 not reach the red zone. And after missing most of 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.360 training camp, Joe Burrow only completed fourteen of thirty one passes, 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:18.880 the first time in his career he's completed fewer than 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:22.679 half of his throws. Dave Lapham joins me to discuss 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.000 Burrow's bad day, But before we get to that, there 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:34.919 was important breaking news at practice on Wednesday. This just 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:40.040 in Joe Burrow got a haircut. This reporter would describe 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:43.000 it as much shorter on the sides and not quite 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:47.600 as thick on the top. Naturally, because it's Burrow. He 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:49.720 was asked about it after practice. 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:55.520 People were talking about the haircut for all the kids 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:57.680 out there that want to get a Joe Burrow haircut, 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.800 for a bunch of them, help their care What what 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:01.119 is it. 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:03.399 You're looking at it? 0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:05.439 I don't even know what to tell people. Just make 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:05.920 it happen. 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:08.800 How do you know it's time to get a haircut. 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:11.840 When you have a game like that on Sunday? 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:12.680 I love that. 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:17.000 Just following up on the haircut, were you just kidding 0:20:17.040 --> 0:20:18.760 about being related to the bad game? 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:20.440 Your motivation? 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:25.680 So Joe basically said, you know what, after a game 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:28.920 like that, the biggest statistical dut of my career so far, 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:31.680 I needed to change things up. I'm gonna get a haircut. 0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:33.920 Yeah, and it's the two hundred and twenty five million 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:36.520 dollar cut. I mean, what the heck? I as well 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:41.520 sell that's one of the minor celebrations of getting that 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:45.600 big contract, get the get the hair trimmed. It is uh, 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:50.240 it is amazing, though, I mean, how would you couldn't 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:54.520 comprehend every single move you make, every single thing you 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:59.159 do from a clothing standpoint, from a grooming standpoint, it 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:02.000 is amazing. Talk about a guy that's under the microscope, 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:05.159 who well, the magnifying glass for all of it. It 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:06.199 is Joe Burrow. 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:09.760 So Game one this year was not good for Joe Burrow. 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.880 Is his fiftieth NFL start if you include the playoff 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:16.719 games that he's been in, and statistically this was the worst. 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:19.960 He had his worst passer rating fifty two point two. 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:23.440 He had his fewest yards ever eighty two yards under 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:27.560 rainy conditions in Cleveland. I did little research about his 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:32.679 previous bad games, and this amazed me. All right, this 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:35.160 was his worst passer rating game ever. 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:35.560 Yeah. 0:21:36.480 --> 0:21:41.480 The next two lowest passer rating games ever were also 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:42.600 season openers. 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:43.000 Wow. 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:45.680 The second worst was last year when he threw four 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:50.000 interceptions against the Steelers. The third worst was the first 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:53.240 game of his NFL career against the Chargers back in 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:57.359 twenty twenty. So out of fifty games, the three worst 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:01.720 statistically were all season openers. 0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:04.440 And I think you can relate it to COVID on 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:06.679 one of them didn't have any training camp. You know, 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:09.760 COVID was an issue. And you start off you don't 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:12.440 really know what. You don't know yet as far as 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:16.560 the National Football League, you have a knee injury, you 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.280 have appendicitis, you have calf poll. I mean he has 0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:23.320 never had a training camp. He's never had a full 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:26.879 training camp. So I mean, as great as he is, 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:29.560 hot flash. 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.240 He's human. He's a human being. 0:22:32.280 --> 0:22:36.840 And he needs repetition to breed comfort level just like anybody, 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:39.520 and everybody does. And when he doesn't get it, I 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:42.679 think you know, you take for granted that he's so 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:46.160 he's been so good. His skill set is so magnificent 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:50.120 that the expectation is he doesn't even need to work 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:54.520 at it to be outstanding. Now, the reason he's outstanding 0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.000 is he works at it. And when that's taken away 0:22:57.040 --> 0:22:59.960 from him, when those reps are taken away, and I'm 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:03.320 mean because he he is so intent and so layser 0:23:03.400 --> 0:23:07.480 focused on those reps and getting them right. When he 0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:11.880 when he misses him, he's going to be rusty. He's 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:14.800 going to be a tick off. I mean, he was 0:23:15.119 --> 0:23:17.200 a tick off. So many times he got ticked off, 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:18.920 you know. I mean it was just one of those, 0:23:18.960 --> 0:23:21.639 one of those things. And look at a tape of 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:25.600 that game, it was amazing how he was just a 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:29.639 little bit inaccurate compared to the way he normally throws it. 0:23:30.119 --> 0:23:32.800 His receivers weren't making them, they were just sort of 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.560 making the play when he was a little bit off. 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:37.520 They were a little bit off. He's a little bit off. 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:40.120 I mean, the whole thing, the whole it just snowballed 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:43.000 and they never got any any kind of a rhythm 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:47.840 or timing or anything close to it. But honestly, when 0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:50.960 I when I watched that game again, I think that 0:23:51.160 --> 0:23:53.639 Zach and the coaching staff decided to go to a 0:23:54.080 --> 0:23:57.760 quick passing game because of the medical issue that Joe 0:23:57.880 --> 0:24:00.960 was dealing with. And it's like, we don't want him 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:05.320 holding the football, subjecting himself to hits or having to 0:24:05.400 --> 0:24:09.280 run around back there and not knowing what the outcome 0:24:09.359 --> 0:24:15.399 might be. So everything was short, intermediate at best to 0:24:15.480 --> 0:24:20.199 the perimeter passing game. And then the rain that we 0:24:20.240 --> 0:24:23.760 talked about, the heavy mist made it very very difficult 0:24:24.000 --> 0:24:25.719 to get the ball out of her hand that quickly. 0:24:26.240 --> 0:24:28.479 He was having problems with it. Put on a glove 0:24:28.880 --> 0:24:31.359 about the third or fourth series, had it off, had 0:24:31.359 --> 0:24:34.399 it back on again. I mean the whole thing. The 0:24:34.440 --> 0:24:36.919 wet ball, you know, was a little bit of a factor. 0:24:36.960 --> 0:24:40.440 And then Schwartz's game plan was the perfect game plan. 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:44.480 He pressed his coverage, He squeezed the field. I mean, 0:24:44.560 --> 0:24:46.320 he put a lot of different looks on the front 0:24:46.440 --> 0:24:49.840 end and the back end. He inverted coverages. He had 0:24:50.119 --> 0:24:54.520 defensive linemen playing all over inside, outside, giving different looks 0:24:54.800 --> 0:24:59.080 and lining him up in different formations. Schematically, he caused 0:24:59.080 --> 0:25:02.960 some communication issues and they had to eventually make adjustments. 0:25:03.720 --> 0:25:06.280 I mean, he printed a book basically on how to 0:25:06.320 --> 0:25:09.080 defend that short passing game, you know, and I think 0:25:09.280 --> 0:25:13.680 bottom line is better open it up, you know, and 0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:17.960 roll the dice a little bit in terms of what 0:25:18.400 --> 0:25:21.520 the situation is with you. I remember saying, Dan, how 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:23.760 about if we throw a deep one time just to 0:25:23.800 --> 0:25:26.359 make them defend it, just to loosen things up. How 0:25:26.400 --> 0:25:28.399 about a deep ball? And then right away in the 0:25:28.440 --> 0:25:31.639 second half, got the eighteen yard pass interference and went 0:25:31.720 --> 0:25:34.320 deep again. It was incomplete, but at least, you know, 0:25:34.520 --> 0:25:37.280 it made him do something different. They were just sitting 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:41.639 on all those short intermediate routes. And I think, I 0:25:41.720 --> 0:25:46.000 don't think that it's not Baltimore's game. Baltimore is a 0:25:46.040 --> 0:25:50.680 team schwartz. The schwartz has the Cleveland Browns attacking at 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:52.800 the line of scrimmage. They want to invert the line 0:25:52.800 --> 0:25:55.640 of scrimmage. They are penetrating, they're hitting get they're attacking. 0:25:56.200 --> 0:26:00.639 Baltimore up front is not read and react, but they 0:26:00.680 --> 0:26:04.600 are a gap control defensive front. And on the back end, 0:26:05.080 --> 0:26:08.520 Cleveland was playing press man and they were They had 0:26:08.560 --> 0:26:10.760 ten guys within five yards of line of scrimmage a 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:14.280 ton and they were playing press man. Baltimore does not. 0:26:14.480 --> 0:26:18.400 Baltimore plays more zone. So Baltimore is very good upfront 0:26:18.440 --> 0:26:20.560 and very good on the back end like Cleveland is 0:26:20.600 --> 0:26:25.560 from a personnel standpoint, but schematically they're very, very different. 0:26:26.200 --> 0:26:29.400 The Browns did not have a bunch of sacks last Sunday, 0:26:29.440 --> 0:26:32.720 but they did get a lot of pressure on Joep. 0:26:32.920 --> 0:26:36.680 The average time from the snap to the Browns applying 0:26:36.760 --> 0:26:41.000 pressure was one point nine to five seconds, less than 0:26:41.000 --> 0:26:45.080 two seconds. That tied for the sixth fastest since they've 0:26:45.119 --> 0:26:47.640 been measuring that stat beginning in twenty nineteen. 0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:54.080 And that's that's a stat that needs to get better. Obviously, 0:26:54.119 --> 0:26:57.080 there's there's no question about it, and I think it 0:26:57.119 --> 0:27:00.440 will improve. I do think the offensive line, you know, 0:27:00.920 --> 0:27:04.040 as rusty as Joe Burrow was, there were a lot 0:27:04.119 --> 0:27:06.720 of guys that were knocking rust and dust off their uniforms. 0:27:06.720 --> 0:27:08.000 I mean, there were a lot of guys that went 0:27:08.040 --> 0:27:14.360 out there without any live game experience in the preseason, 0:27:14.440 --> 0:27:18.000 working next to each other and alongside, you know, teammates 0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:22.199 and communicating back and forth. I mean, I think Jo 0:27:22.280 --> 0:27:28.280 and as receivers, they were communicating again, just looking at 0:27:28.280 --> 0:27:30.840 each other like what's up, just to tick off, you know, 0:27:31.119 --> 0:27:34.520 it just could not quite just could not quite complete 0:27:34.520 --> 0:27:38.960 the task and never ever got in any kind of 0:27:38.960 --> 0:27:43.159 a rhythm, timing, tempo, None of that was there. And 0:27:43.280 --> 0:27:46.280 I mean third down, jeez, what they go two for 0:27:46.359 --> 0:27:51.359 fifteen and they went one for seven when it was 0:27:51.440 --> 0:27:55.800 third and one to five one for seven. Second third 0:27:55.840 --> 0:27:57.680 down was the third and one they convert the first 0:27:57.720 --> 0:27:59.439 third down. Second one is a third and one they 0:27:59.440 --> 0:28:03.480 don't convert, and then it's just three and out, three 0:28:03.480 --> 0:28:06.439 and out, three and out. I mean they had seven 0:28:06.560 --> 0:28:08.760 three and out possessions I believe during the course of 0:28:08.800 --> 0:28:11.760 the football game and fifteen possessions, but the last one 0:28:11.760 --> 0:28:14.359 was the kneel down one play. So literally half of 0:28:14.359 --> 0:28:19.160 their possessions seven of their fourteen possessions were three and out. 0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:21.920 So went back and did some research on how Joe 0:28:22.000 --> 0:28:25.240 Burrow has historically bounced back from the worst games of 0:28:25.280 --> 0:28:27.640 his career. So, if you look at the three lowest 0:28:27.720 --> 0:28:30.399 passer rating games he ever had before this one, right 0:28:30.640 --> 0:28:33.240 in the next three games, he threw seven touchdown passes, 0:28:33.280 --> 0:28:36.480 one pick, passer rating of ninety five. If you look 0:28:36.520 --> 0:28:40.080 at the three lowest yardage games of his NFL career, 0:28:40.440 --> 0:28:42.520 the three games after that, he had a passer rating 0:28:42.520 --> 0:28:45.280 of one twenty eight point nine. So Joe Burrow has 0:28:45.280 --> 0:28:48.200 always bounced back the next week. We anticipate that he 0:28:48.280 --> 0:28:52.280 will against Baltimore this Sunday, but I wanted to learn 0:28:52.320 --> 0:28:54.840 some more about how he bounces back. So I ask 0:28:55.080 --> 0:29:00.080 this question of offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, what's Burrow like 0:29:00.160 --> 0:29:01.000 after a bad. 0:29:00.800 --> 0:29:03.560 Game the same as he is after a good one, 0:29:04.200 --> 0:29:07.680 which which makes him consistent. I think that's that's the 0:29:07.720 --> 0:29:09.520 name of the game in the NFL. You know, there's seventeen. 0:29:09.600 --> 0:29:11.880 There's seventeen games, and you're gonna play well in some 0:29:12.040 --> 0:29:14.960 and not in others. And some defenses are tough matchups, 0:29:15.360 --> 0:29:19.360 and some games you play outstanding and some games you 0:29:19.560 --> 0:29:22.160 struggle to score points. And I think as long as 0:29:22.200 --> 0:29:25.600 you never really ride that roller coaster of emotional reactions 0:29:25.600 --> 0:29:27.800 to things, and you've come in and fix it needs 0:29:27.800 --> 0:29:29.520 to be fixed when you win, in you lose, and 0:29:29.560 --> 0:29:31.120 then you move on and get ready for the next one. 0:29:31.160 --> 0:29:33.720 And I think that's a pretty standard approach for guys 0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:35.280 like Joe, and I think that's how our team is. 0:29:35.360 --> 0:29:37.320 So so we have to keep doing. 0:29:38.120 --> 0:29:41.520 The interesting thing during the pressure with Joe, you know 0:29:41.720 --> 0:29:44.200 has talked about that. Not only is Joe that way, 0:29:44.560 --> 0:29:47.400 the coaches, you know, Zach Taylor and Brian Callahan talk 0:29:47.440 --> 0:29:51.120 about Joe being that way. Joe talks about them that way. 0:29:51.880 --> 0:29:55.360 The opposite was true. Joe Borrow said that Zach is 0:29:55.520 --> 0:29:59.280 totally consistent in his approach and there's not the roller 0:29:59.280 --> 0:30:03.120 coaster highs and lows. Brian Callahan the exact same way. 0:30:03.520 --> 0:30:07.280 So I do believe that as a football team, it 0:30:07.360 --> 0:30:11.160 starts at the top with Zach to the coordinator, you know, 0:30:11.280 --> 0:30:16.400 to the quarterback to his teammates, compartmentalize and move on. 0:30:17.240 --> 0:30:21.400 Don't ignore it, it happened, Watch the tape, learn from it, 0:30:21.800 --> 0:30:25.080 make any necessary adjustments, and then put it in the bank, 0:30:25.400 --> 0:30:27.480 way back in the memory bank, and move on. 0:30:28.520 --> 0:30:30.880 The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Alta 0:30:30.960 --> 0:30:35.200 Fiber future proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit 0:30:35.280 --> 0:30:38.440 speeds designed to take your home, business, and community to 0:30:38.520 --> 0:30:42.920 a new level. Elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. While 0:30:42.920 --> 0:30:46.440 the Bengals offense struggled in Cleveland, the defense played pretty well. 0:30:46.640 --> 0:30:50.640 The Browns only scored two touchdowns on fourteen possessions, and 0:30:50.720 --> 0:30:54.840 one of those TV drives lasted eighteen yards. I discussed 0:30:54.920 --> 0:30:58.160 last week's game and this week's matchup against the Ravens 0:30:58.400 --> 0:31:03.840 with linebacker Logan. Logan is a fan. When your team 0:31:03.880 --> 0:31:06.400 has a rough game, it lingers until the next game. 0:31:06.800 --> 0:31:08.680 As a player, how quickly do you move on? 0:31:09.000 --> 0:31:09.920 Twenty four hour rule. 0:31:10.200 --> 0:31:12.720 That's our mindset, you know, learn from the mistakes that 0:31:12.720 --> 0:31:15.360 we were in that game and learn from the good 0:31:15.360 --> 0:31:15.960 things as well. 0:31:15.960 --> 0:31:18.760 But it's on to Baltimore this week after twenty four hours. 0:31:19.040 --> 0:31:21.760 I've got a buddy who's a diehard Bengals fan. When 0:31:21.760 --> 0:31:25.600 the team loses, he watches recorded episodes of America's Funniest 0:31:25.640 --> 0:31:28.480 Home videos just so he can completely put it out 0:31:28.520 --> 0:31:31.640 of his mind. Do you do anything like that or 0:31:31.680 --> 0:31:34.400 do you kind of replay the game until that twenty 0:31:34.400 --> 0:31:35.680 four hour rule is finished? 0:31:35.840 --> 0:31:37.920 Yeah, I think it's kind of you know, replay like 0:31:37.960 --> 0:31:39.760 maybe certain plays that you think you messed. 0:31:39.600 --> 0:31:40.880 Up on that you want to be better on. 0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:44.160 You and then just like I said, you just learned 0:31:44.200 --> 0:31:45.959 from it, and then at the end of the day 0:31:45.960 --> 0:31:47.680 you try to get your body right to go. 0:31:47.840 --> 0:31:50.760 The next week, we're chatting with Logan Wilson. The defense 0:31:50.800 --> 0:31:53.520 played well. You four seven punts, you had two takeaways. 0:31:53.560 --> 0:31:55.720 If not for an eighteen yard drive in the fourth quarter, 0:31:55.760 --> 0:31:58.440 the Browns probably wouldn't have scored twenty points. What did 0:31:58.480 --> 0:32:00.840 you think of the defense as overall performance? 0:32:01.320 --> 0:32:03.120 You know, I thought we did some things really well. 0:32:03.200 --> 0:32:04.720 I think there's some things that we still need to 0:32:04.760 --> 0:32:07.960 continue to do better at. Obviously them scoring too many 0:32:07.960 --> 0:32:11.080 points is the biggest thing, and just continuing to learn 0:32:11.080 --> 0:32:13.640 from those those good things, like forcing those those turnovers, 0:32:13.640 --> 0:32:15.880 those are huge. The more often that we can get 0:32:15.920 --> 0:32:18.120 the ball back to our offense, the better off we're 0:32:18.120 --> 0:32:20.160 going to be as a team. And we understand that, 0:32:20.240 --> 0:32:22.080 and so we're always trying to find ways to hunt 0:32:22.120 --> 0:32:24.320 the ball, and I think that's a big thing for us. 0:32:24.280 --> 0:32:25.200 To go on moving forward. 0:32:25.640 --> 0:32:28.240 It was a wet, sloppy day. It was obviously hard 0:32:28.240 --> 0:32:29.760 to throw the ball. How was the footing? 0:32:30.440 --> 0:32:33.040 Footing was was average to say the least. 0:32:33.040 --> 0:32:36.920 It wasn't It wasn't horrible, but just because really because 0:32:36.920 --> 0:32:38.360 the grass was kind of brand new. It was the 0:32:38.360 --> 0:32:40.280 first game on that grass before it gets all torn 0:32:40.280 --> 0:32:42.240 out throughout the year, which is probably good. 0:32:42.960 --> 0:32:44.560 But I was not expecting it to rain that much. 0:32:44.560 --> 0:32:46.760 I remember checking the forecast that morning it was like 0:32:46.760 --> 0:32:48.880 fifteen percent chance of rain and just decided to rain 0:32:48.920 --> 0:32:49.400 the whole game. 0:32:49.480 --> 0:32:51.400 So it was it was weird. 0:32:52.280 --> 0:32:54.240 You didn't come out. You were in for all seventy 0:32:54.240 --> 0:32:57.880 four defensive snap snaps. Jermaine Pratt played sixty six of 0:32:57.920 --> 0:33:00.560 the seventy four. Is that a big point pride for 0:33:00.600 --> 0:33:02.920 the two of you, that you don't have to come out, 0:33:02.960 --> 0:33:05.360 whether it's first down, third and long whatever. 0:33:05.560 --> 0:33:07.800 Yeah, we pride ourselves on being able to play all 0:33:07.800 --> 0:33:10.640 three downs, and you know, We push each other within 0:33:10.640 --> 0:33:12.720 the schemes of our defense to do things that you know, 0:33:12.760 --> 0:33:15.280 we might not have done in the past, and we're 0:33:15.280 --> 0:33:17.560 always trying to grow from each other and learn. And 0:33:17.560 --> 0:33:19.640 I think that having that mindset of like just never 0:33:19.640 --> 0:33:22.000 being satisfied has helped us grow into the players we 0:33:22.040 --> 0:33:24.040 are and will continue to help us move forward. 0:33:24.240 --> 0:33:27.360 We're visiting with Logan Wilson after last year's playoff lost 0:33:27.360 --> 0:33:29.640 in Kansas City. I remember talking to Jermaine in front 0:33:29.640 --> 0:33:32.120 of his locker and I was thinking, this is probably 0:33:32.160 --> 0:33:34.720 the last time I do this. I didn't seem likely 0:33:34.800 --> 0:33:37.200 that he would re sign, just because of the contract 0:33:37.280 --> 0:33:39.760 situations on the team. Then on the first day of 0:33:39.800 --> 0:33:42.440 free agency, signed a three year extension. Were you a 0:33:42.480 --> 0:33:44.160 bit surprised? What was your reaction? 0:33:44.480 --> 0:33:46.000 I mean, I was a little bit surprised too. I 0:33:46.040 --> 0:33:47.440 wasn't sure if we were going to get him back. 0:33:48.360 --> 0:33:51.600 But you know, I'm obviously exact that he came back 0:33:51.680 --> 0:33:53.680 and that we got to continue what him and I 0:33:53.720 --> 0:33:55.360 have going forward. And I think that, you know, we 0:33:55.400 --> 0:33:57.760 can continue to establish ourselves as one of the best 0:33:57.800 --> 0:34:01.240 linebacker duos in the NFL. And you know, I think 0:34:01.280 --> 0:34:04.480 that having that continuity is so rare in this league, 0:34:04.560 --> 0:34:06.320 you know, Like for him and I to be going 0:34:06.360 --> 0:34:09.400 in now year four together, I think is rare to 0:34:09.440 --> 0:34:12.879 have that. And I think that he and I both 0:34:13.000 --> 0:34:14.600 know and trust each other of what we're going to 0:34:14.680 --> 0:34:16.640 do on each play, and it helps us just play fast, 0:34:16.680 --> 0:34:19.360 and you know, we can talk through things pre snap 0:34:19.400 --> 0:34:22.000 that help us be on the right page, you know, 0:34:22.080 --> 0:34:22.800 within that play. 0:34:23.320 --> 0:34:25.799 You got your extension done about a month ago, so 0:34:25.840 --> 0:34:28.000 you're going to be here for at least four more years, 0:34:28.000 --> 0:34:30.719 which were thrilled about. What was that whole process like 0:34:30.800 --> 0:34:31.120 for you? 0:34:31.960 --> 0:34:33.960 I kind of just let my agent take care of that. 0:34:34.560 --> 0:34:35.480 You know, at the end of the day, I was 0:34:35.520 --> 0:34:38.160 just trying to to better my craft on the field 0:34:38.200 --> 0:34:40.200 and help our defense as a whole start to gel, 0:34:40.280 --> 0:34:42.960 you know, some new guys back there, and I really 0:34:43.000 --> 0:34:44.399 didn't worry about it a whole lot. 0:34:44.440 --> 0:34:44.600 You know. 0:34:44.600 --> 0:34:46.840 Obviously I was in contact with my agent and we 0:34:46.880 --> 0:34:49.280 were exchanging words with what was going on and whatnot, 0:34:49.320 --> 0:34:52.200 and you know, I'm very excited and exetic that it. 0:34:52.160 --> 0:34:53.040 Was able to get done. 0:34:53.360 --> 0:34:56.040 You're a wyoming guy. Is there a big plot of 0:34:56.160 --> 0:34:59.279 land in your future? Will you buy horses? Will you 0:34:59.400 --> 0:35:01.520 and your wife see the world. What are some of 0:35:01.560 --> 0:35:02.640 the things you have planned? 0:35:03.640 --> 0:35:06.440 I think, well, you know, we'll eventually build our like 0:35:06.880 --> 0:35:10.080 forever home back there in Wyoming. I think we're trying 0:35:10.080 --> 0:35:13.000 to work on that right now, but we haven't bought 0:35:13.080 --> 0:35:14.680 any land yet. That'll be in the future. 0:35:14.760 --> 0:35:15.120 One thing. 0:35:15.320 --> 0:35:17.480 Not gonna worry about that stuff right now during the season. 0:35:17.520 --> 0:35:18.920 We can look into that kind of stuff in the 0:35:18.960 --> 0:35:19.440 off season. 0:35:20.040 --> 0:35:22.600 Let's look ahead to this week's opponent, Baltimore. In your 0:35:22.640 --> 0:35:24.799 first three seasons, they were going to try to run 0:35:24.800 --> 0:35:27.120 it down your throat. Now they've got a new offensive 0:35:27.120 --> 0:35:29.520 coordinator who came from the college ranks. Do you expect 0:35:29.520 --> 0:35:30.520 them to be much different? 0:35:30.840 --> 0:35:32.600 There'll be some differences, for sure, you know. 0:35:32.640 --> 0:35:34.560 I think that there they'll have some stuff that their 0:35:34.680 --> 0:35:37.880 offensive coordinator ran at Georgia, and then they'll have some 0:35:37.920 --> 0:35:39.959 stuff that they've kind of ran in the past. It'll 0:35:39.960 --> 0:35:43.600 be different with more past concepts. You know, we know 0:35:43.680 --> 0:35:46.120 what to we don't mean, it's always hard to know 0:35:46.160 --> 0:35:48.040 what to expect because you get preseason guys and they 0:35:48.040 --> 0:35:50.800 don't always show our preseason games and they always show everything. 0:35:50.840 --> 0:35:53.960 But they're starting to show some stuff obviously in the 0:35:53.960 --> 0:35:57.360 Houston game, and you know, well, at the end of 0:35:57.400 --> 0:35:59.920 the day, we'll rely on our rules and fundamentals to 0:36:00.680 --> 0:36:02.040 adjust to whatever they throw at us. 0:36:02.440 --> 0:36:04.400 You played these guys in back to back games at 0:36:04.400 --> 0:36:06.400 the end of the year, final game of the regular season, 0:36:06.400 --> 0:36:08.920 first round of the playoffs. Does it feel like you 0:36:09.200 --> 0:36:10.560 just played Baltimore? 0:36:11.200 --> 0:36:12.399 Uh? 0:36:12.719 --> 0:36:15.040 Not really, honestly, just because it was a while ago. 0:36:16.200 --> 0:36:18.440 But you know, I think that they're always They're always 0:36:18.440 --> 0:36:21.600 a tough opponent. It's always those division games are always tough, 0:36:21.640 --> 0:36:23.279 and I think we have one of, if not the 0:36:23.320 --> 0:36:26.759 best division in the National Football League right now, and 0:36:26.840 --> 0:36:28.640 so we always have our hands full playing him, and 0:36:28.880 --> 0:36:30.320 we always look forward to the challenge. 0:36:31.000 --> 0:36:34.000 In that playoff game, you had a hand, actually two 0:36:34.120 --> 0:36:38.200 hands in the most famous defensive play in Bengals history, 0:36:38.239 --> 0:36:40.920 the fumble into jungle. You forced it, Sam ran it 0:36:40.960 --> 0:36:44.080 back for the touchdown. Do you have a framed picture 0:36:44.239 --> 0:36:46.760 of it or any sort of keepsake as a memory 0:36:46.760 --> 0:36:47.600 of that great moment. 0:36:47.680 --> 0:36:50.799 Well, it's funny because that football that Sam ended up 0:36:50.800 --> 0:36:53.399 scoring with was in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 0:36:53.440 --> 0:36:55.120 And when the family it came down. 0:36:55.120 --> 0:36:57.839 When I did that softball game during OTAs we went 0:36:57.880 --> 0:36:59.680 down to the Canton before we left for the summer, 0:36:59.719 --> 0:37:01.560 after which he has has finished and got to see 0:37:01.600 --> 0:37:05.160 that picture in the Profoball Hall of Fame with that football, 0:37:05.200 --> 0:37:06.520 So it was pretty cool to see that. I mean, 0:37:06.560 --> 0:37:10.240 I'll always have Eventually, I'll probably get a frame photo 0:37:10.239 --> 0:37:11.600 of that because I think that's going to be an 0:37:11.600 --> 0:37:12.360 Alzheimer for me. 0:37:13.160 --> 0:37:15.520 There's no question that that's going to be an Alzheimer 0:37:15.560 --> 0:37:17.480 for all of us, and we look forward to the 0:37:17.520 --> 0:37:21.319 next Alzheimer whenever that happens. Best of luck this week. 0:37:21.360 --> 0:37:24.560 Thanks much for the time as always, and beat the Ravens. 0:37:24.680 --> 0:37:25.600 Appreciate it. Thank you. 0:37:26.719 --> 0:37:29.840 In Lamar Jackson's five NFL seasons, the Bengals have faced 0:37:29.840 --> 0:37:34.920 the Ravens eleven times, including last year's playoff game. Baltimore 0:37:35.080 --> 0:37:38.480 is six and one when Lamar starts and zero to 0:37:38.560 --> 0:37:42.280 five when he doesn't. Lamar's missed the last three meetings 0:37:42.400 --> 0:37:46.080 at pay Corps Stadium. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented 0:37:46.120 --> 0:37:49.280 by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play 0:37:49.280 --> 0:37:52.720 with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs. Find both 0:37:52.920 --> 0:37:56.160 inside the Bengals app. The Bengals appear to be in 0:37:56.200 --> 0:37:59.160 good shape in terms of injuries heading into Sunday's game. 0:37:59.600 --> 0:38:03.319 Josephsi practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday, and it 0:38:03.360 --> 0:38:05.400 sounds like there's a good chance he'll be able to 0:38:05.440 --> 0:38:09.719 go on Sunday. The Ravens, on the other hand, have issues. 0:38:10.000 --> 0:38:13.279 Their best running back JK Dobbins suffered a season ending 0:38:13.320 --> 0:38:17.200 achilles tear last week, and offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley and 0:38:17.280 --> 0:38:22.000 Tyler Linderbaum both left the opener with injuries. They're considered 0:38:22.000 --> 0:38:26.000 week to week. Safety Marcus Williams suffered a pectoral injury, 0:38:26.080 --> 0:38:29.680 so he's definitely out, and their best cornerback Marlon Humphrey 0:38:29.920 --> 0:38:32.800 had foot surgery in mid August and did not play 0:38:32.880 --> 0:38:36.080 in the opener. Lap and I discussed those injuries and 0:38:36.200 --> 0:38:40.440 much more with Ravens broadcaster Jerry Sandusky when he joined 0:38:40.480 --> 0:38:42.319 us on the Bengals Game Plan Show. 0:38:43.800 --> 0:38:46.400 Other than that, Missus Lincoln, you're gonna love the second 0:38:46.440 --> 0:38:52.399 act of the play. Look, I think you're gonna see 0:38:52.440 --> 0:38:54.120 the Ravens have to make a lot of ajustice on 0:38:54.160 --> 0:38:56.080 the offensive line the rest of the season. They've got 0:38:56.080 --> 0:38:58.880 adjust to the backfield. I doubt we'll see Marlon Humphy 0:38:58.920 --> 0:39:02.000 since they didn't practice day, so you know Week two 0:39:02.239 --> 0:39:05.400 and you know, the Ravens new offense really now becomes 0:39:05.440 --> 0:39:07.080 an offense that has to adjust on the fly. 0:39:08.400 --> 0:39:13.480 Speaking of new offense, offensive coordinator Todd Monkin plenty of 0:39:13.600 --> 0:39:16.279 experience as a coordinator in the National Football League and 0:39:16.320 --> 0:39:21.600 then with University of Georgia National championship run. What kind 0:39:21.600 --> 0:39:23.160 of a coach is he, Jerry. 0:39:24.000 --> 0:39:28.480 He's terrific. I'm so impressed with Todd Munkins because he 0:39:28.920 --> 0:39:33.480 empowers his players and he puts He gives his players 0:39:33.520 --> 0:39:36.040 a lot of latitude in this offense to make adjustments. 0:39:36.080 --> 0:39:38.240 You know, Lamar for the first five years of his career, 0:39:38.760 --> 0:39:41.960 play comes in thinking about a helmet, falls, the huddle, 0:39:42.080 --> 0:39:43.880 run the play, whether you know it's gonna work or not. 0:39:44.360 --> 0:39:46.680 In Monkin's offense, Lamar comes to the line. He can 0:39:46.719 --> 0:39:49.839 adjust protection, he can read the defense. Now, he can 0:39:49.880 --> 0:39:53.319 call audibles, and he can suggest things and so it's 0:39:53.440 --> 0:39:57.160 much more of a conversation. It's much more. And Dave, 0:39:57.200 --> 0:40:00.359 I don't care if you are in football broadcast, if 0:40:00.360 --> 0:40:03.239 you sell dining room tables for a living. When the 0:40:03.360 --> 0:40:07.600 employees feel like they are involved in the decision making, 0:40:07.840 --> 0:40:09.600 they're going to put their heart and soul, not just 0:40:09.640 --> 0:40:11.839 their hands in the back into it, and long term, 0:40:11.840 --> 0:40:14.400 I think you're gonna see really good results because of that. 0:40:14.600 --> 0:40:16.440 So you're saying he empowers people. 0:40:16.560 --> 0:40:17.920 Huh. 0:40:17.920 --> 0:40:20.640 Completely really impressed with Todd Monkin. 0:40:21.320 --> 0:40:24.319 We are visiting with the Ravens radio voice Jerry Sandusky. 0:40:24.440 --> 0:40:27.239 Baltimore has drafted some wide receivers in the first round 0:40:27.239 --> 0:40:29.759 in recent years. It hasn't always worked out, but it 0:40:29.840 --> 0:40:32.839 looks like it might be working out this time. Zay 0:40:32.880 --> 0:40:36.720 Flowers taken twenty second overall. He had nine catches last week, 0:40:36.920 --> 0:40:40.480 and based on everything I've read about training camp, sounds 0:40:40.520 --> 0:40:44.560 like Zay Flowers is exactly what the Ravens were hoping 0:40:44.560 --> 0:40:46.680 for when they took him, and. 0:40:46.640 --> 0:40:48.560 It's what they've been looking for in the draft since 0:40:48.640 --> 0:40:51.359 nineteen ninety six. They've never found that guy. They found 0:40:51.440 --> 0:40:54.279 him in Zay Flowers. Dan, you know, the Ravens are 0:40:54.280 --> 0:40:57.160 the only NFL team that have never drafted a Pro 0:40:57.239 --> 0:41:01.680 Bowl wide receiver ever, no Pro Bowl wide receivers. And 0:41:01.719 --> 0:41:03.560 I'm not I't believe me. I'm not elevating the rookie 0:41:03.600 --> 0:41:07.040 to Pro Bowl already, but he's already had the best 0:41:07.080 --> 0:41:11.080 first game of any Ravens rookie, I almost double the 0:41:11.160 --> 0:41:14.640 number of reception. He's got quickness, he's got football IQ. 0:41:15.400 --> 0:41:18.080 He's He's the kind of guy that if you get 0:41:18.120 --> 0:41:20.759 him the ball in space. Remember how you felt about 0:41:20.800 --> 0:41:22.880 Jamar Shase the first time you saw him, he realized, Okay, 0:41:23.040 --> 0:41:24.200 he's got to get in the ball. He's going to 0:41:24.239 --> 0:41:27.160 make plays. He's a different style than Jamar, but he 0:41:27.160 --> 0:41:30.880 has the same quality of get him the ball some way, anyway, 0:41:31.040 --> 0:41:32.120 he'll make plays. 0:41:32.960 --> 0:41:37.200 What about the running game, I mean, do you think 0:41:37.239 --> 0:41:43.280 that uh, basically Todd Munkin and John Harbaugh based put 0:41:43.680 --> 0:41:47.560 Lamar Jackson under wraps or did Houston take away Lamar 0:41:47.719 --> 0:41:50.719 Jackson as an option running the football when he was 0:41:50.760 --> 0:41:53.440 doing the you know, the RPOs, his own reads and 0:41:53.480 --> 0:41:56.719 that kind of thing. It will Lamar Jackson be as 0:41:56.719 --> 0:41:59.359 big a running threat quarterback run threat as he's been 0:41:59.400 --> 0:42:02.719 in the pastund Todd Munkin, Dave. 0:42:02.520 --> 0:42:05.320 I think he's going to be as big a run threat, 0:42:06.160 --> 0:42:08.200 but from a different angle. What I mean by that 0:42:08.360 --> 0:42:12.280 is the in the Greg Roman offense, the read option 0:42:12.520 --> 0:42:15.600 was the base of that offense. Along with power running 0:42:15.680 --> 0:42:18.640 ISO's trap that was the base of the offense and 0:42:18.640 --> 0:42:21.120 everything worked off of that. The Reid option is part 0:42:21.120 --> 0:42:23.200 of this offense. You'll see it some weeks, it will 0:42:23.239 --> 0:42:24.879 be a lot of weeks you don't see it. Where 0:42:24.960 --> 0:42:27.719 Lamar's going to get his yardage is this is more 0:42:27.719 --> 0:42:31.359 of a West Coast spread the defense horizontally offense. Well, 0:42:31.360 --> 0:42:33.480 when you spread out of defense, you will eventually give 0:42:33.560 --> 0:42:37.239 Lamar Jackson big running lane and if the passing opportunity 0:42:37.280 --> 0:42:41.600 is not there, he'll get chunk yardage extending plays. And 0:42:41.640 --> 0:42:43.439 I think you're going to start seeking this point forward 0:42:43.480 --> 0:42:49.000 in Lamar's career, getting his running yardage as secondary not primary. 0:42:49.400 --> 0:42:52.719 Okay, Jerry, two years ago in this rivalry, in the 0:42:52.719 --> 0:42:55.640 two games, Joe Burrow threw for nine hunty one yards 0:42:55.640 --> 0:42:58.040 and the Bengals scored forty one points in each game. 0:42:58.360 --> 0:43:01.719 Last year, he never topped two twenty against Baltimore. The 0:43:01.760 --> 0:43:06.960 Bengals offense never scored more than twenty. Does Baltimore feel 0:43:07.000 --> 0:43:09.680 like it's got a pretty good formula for keeping the 0:43:09.680 --> 0:43:11.200 Bengals offense in check? 0:43:12.560 --> 0:43:14.680 So? I think they did last year, but I don't 0:43:14.680 --> 0:43:16.680 know about this year because two years ago they felt 0:43:16.680 --> 0:43:19.160 like they did and they gave up a thousand yards. 0:43:18.640 --> 0:43:22.239 It's one of those things with this rivalry. There are 0:43:22.239 --> 0:43:25.239 a lot of really good coaches in this rivalry. I 0:43:25.320 --> 0:43:28.120 think Zach Taylor has evolved into a terrific young head 0:43:28.160 --> 0:43:30.360 coach in this league. I think lou Hana Rumo is 0:43:30.400 --> 0:43:32.840 one of the best defensive coordinators in the entire league. 0:43:33.280 --> 0:43:36.240 And I think, you know, the Ravens has some really 0:43:36.520 --> 0:43:39.399 I've told you how much I think of Mike of 0:43:39.440 --> 0:43:42.279 Todd Monkin. Mike McDonald is now in his second year 0:43:42.280 --> 0:43:44.799 and he's a terrific young coordinator. So I think we're 0:43:44.800 --> 0:43:47.960 gonna see games where the defense really does a great 0:43:48.040 --> 0:43:51.160 job putting lid on. But look, both of these teams 0:43:51.200 --> 0:43:53.319 now have big time playmakers. We haven't even talked about 0:43:53.320 --> 0:43:58.480 Objays as well as A Flowers, Mark Andrews. With what 0:43:58.520 --> 0:44:01.960 you got in that and that received, there's gonna be 0:44:02.000 --> 0:44:04.640 Sundays where defensive coordinators do great jobs, and there's gonna 0:44:04.680 --> 0:44:08.040 be Sundays where playmakers make plays. I don't think anybody 0:44:08.040 --> 0:44:11.239 involved in this rivalry is either arrogant enough or dumb 0:44:11.360 --> 0:44:13.440 enough to think they've got the formula to stop the 0:44:13.480 --> 0:44:15.520 other guy. Sunday in and Sunday out. 0:44:16.280 --> 0:44:19.160 You know defensively, when I look at both of these units, 0:44:19.880 --> 0:44:22.320 a lot healthy dose to respect for what the Baltimore 0:44:22.400 --> 0:44:26.600 Ravens have up front, healthy dose respect respect the same 0:44:26.640 --> 0:44:30.000 way for the Bengals and the back end. Now you know, 0:44:30.280 --> 0:44:32.840 the Bengals have a lot of young talent in the 0:44:32.880 --> 0:44:35.759 back end. The Ravens got some talent on the back 0:44:35.840 --> 0:44:40.319 end as well. But the position group that doesn't get 0:44:40.360 --> 0:44:44.839 talked about as much but is really good the linebackers. 0:44:44.920 --> 0:44:48.800 I mean, Smith and Queen combined for what twenty seven 0:44:48.920 --> 0:44:52.280 tackles in the first game. Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt 0:44:52.520 --> 0:44:55.480 played at an extremely high level for the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:44:55.520 --> 0:44:58.680 They're three down linebackers. It might come down to which 0:44:58.920 --> 0:45:01.279 dynamic duo is the most dynamic at linebacker. 0:45:02.360 --> 0:45:03.920 It was wild you brought it up because I was 0:45:03.920 --> 0:45:06.360 doing game preps a little bit before I jumped on 0:45:06.360 --> 0:45:08.560 the call with you guys, and one of the big 0:45:08.600 --> 0:45:12.040 things that I circled was this might be the best 0:45:12.080 --> 0:45:15.560 matchup of inside linebackers we'll see all year until we 0:45:15.680 --> 0:45:18.760 see the Bengals again later down this year, because both 0:45:18.920 --> 0:45:23.280 defenses rely so heavily. The green dot is inside that group. 0:45:23.320 --> 0:45:26.720 For both teams. The big tackle numbers are inside that group. 0:45:26.760 --> 0:45:29.680 The sacks are driven from that group. And when I 0:45:29.719 --> 0:45:33.799 watched the tape, I see Jermaine Pratt, Logan Wilson doing 0:45:33.840 --> 0:45:35.880 a lot of what I see from Rokwan Smith and 0:45:35.920 --> 0:45:38.879 Patrick Queen. They're moving guys in front of them, They're 0:45:39.000 --> 0:45:41.879 checking the secondary. They're the brains of the unit, They're 0:45:41.920 --> 0:45:44.360 the heart of the unit, and they really have become 0:45:44.760 --> 0:45:48.480 mirror groups who are huge impacts. We're going to talk 0:45:48.520 --> 0:45:52.280 a lot Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, but I think 0:45:52.640 --> 0:45:54.879 the outcome on Sunday is going to be which one 0:45:54.880 --> 0:45:58.320 of these two inside linebacker groups has a bigger impact 0:45:58.560 --> 0:45:59.080 on the game. 0:46:00.160 --> 0:46:03.800 And finally, and freciate you, as always, Jerry, special teams. 0:46:03.800 --> 0:46:06.719 You can never talk about a coach harball team without 0:46:06.760 --> 0:46:10.320 addressing the special teams because everybody knows it's so important 0:46:10.320 --> 0:46:12.640 to him. How do you see the special teams match 0:46:12.719 --> 0:46:13.400 up in this one? 0:46:14.520 --> 0:46:17.520 Well, I think if either offense gets the ball the midfield, 0:46:17.520 --> 0:46:21.480 you're a scoring age. And I'm not think Justin Tucker 0:46:21.960 --> 0:46:24.600 and Evan McPherson have the strongest legs and the most 0:46:24.600 --> 0:46:27.440 accurate deep legs in the NFL. The two guys I 0:46:27.440 --> 0:46:30.359 feel bad for are the kick returners because they might 0:46:30.400 --> 0:46:33.640 as well take Sunday off because unless the teams want 0:46:33.640 --> 0:46:35.279 to kick it high and short and want to force 0:46:35.320 --> 0:46:38.040 a return, there will be no kick returns in this game. 0:46:38.440 --> 0:46:40.000 And that you know, really, when you think about it, 0:46:40.040 --> 0:46:42.759 if you're the offensive coordinators, you can literally look at 0:46:42.760 --> 0:46:44.680 this and say, I only have to chew up half 0:46:44.719 --> 0:46:47.480 the field to get points. There are there aren't many 0:46:47.480 --> 0:46:50.120 offensive coordinators who say the fifty yard line gives me 0:46:50.160 --> 0:46:53.040 a shot at scoring, and everything in there just increases 0:46:53.080 --> 0:46:56.879 my likelihood of points. Again, you know, these two teams 0:46:56.920 --> 0:47:00.440 have evolved into a lot of similar ways. Great edge 0:47:00.440 --> 0:47:05.600 pass rushers, great young quarterbacks, explosive wide receivers, terrific inside linebackers. 0:47:05.960 --> 0:47:08.720 And you've got a third year kicker whose world class, 0:47:08.719 --> 0:47:10.840 and we've got a twelve year kicker whose world class. 0:47:10.960 --> 0:47:14.360 There's a lot of parallels and Mike variance, Dave, and 0:47:14.360 --> 0:47:17.520 I think you've probably feel similar is that when you 0:47:17.680 --> 0:47:20.399 put two teams on the field, the coaches know each other, 0:47:20.560 --> 0:47:23.239 players know each other, The talent level so high, a 0:47:23.280 --> 0:47:26.520 lot of equals. It just comes down to which playmaker 0:47:26.640 --> 0:47:28.720 is going to make a plays one o'clock on Sunday. 0:47:29.800 --> 0:47:31.960 Here's an invitation to join us for the Bengals pep 0:47:32.080 --> 0:47:34.760 Rally Show on Friday from three to six at Wings 0:47:34.760 --> 0:47:38.719 and Rings in Fairfield. Running back Trayvon Williams is scheduled 0:47:38.719 --> 0:47:41.799 to be our guest in the final hour. That's going 0:47:41.840 --> 0:47:44.200 to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, 0:47:44.280 --> 0:47:47.919 brought to you by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. There 0:47:47.920 --> 0:47:50.360 free to play, with tickets and signed merchandise up for 0:47:50.480 --> 0:47:54.799 grabs by pay Corps, the official HR software provider of 0:47:54.840 --> 0:47:59.640 the Bengals, by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet elevate 0:47:59.680 --> 0:48:04.000 your connection with Alta Fiber, and by Kettering Health, the 0:48:04.040 --> 0:48:07.480 official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you haven't done 0:48:07.480 --> 0:48:10.080 so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you 0:48:10.120 --> 0:48:12.200 have a minute, give it a rating or share a 0:48:12.239 --> 0:48:16.480 comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan 0:48:16.560 --> 0:48:20.400 Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.